Abstract: 
This document analyzes the growing and destructive trend of "account piloting" in AOEM (Age 
of Empires Mobile / similar MMO strategy games). It focuses on how this practice 
systematically destroys the competitive integrity of the game, disadvantages honest players, 
and transforms the game from a test of strategic skill into a competition of who can afford to 
hire more people to manage their accounts. The document calls on the developers for 
immediate intervention, the implementation of strict bans, and exemplary penalties. 

1. Introduction to the Issue: What is Account Piloting? 
In strategic MMO games like AOEM, time is one of the most critical resources. An average 
player spends a certain number of hours a day playing, must sleep, work, and dedicate time to 
real life. 

Account Piloting is a practice where the owner of a game account hands over their login 
credentials to a third party (a pilot or a group of pilots). These pilots then play on the account 
while the owner is offline. The result is an account that remains active 24 hours a day, 7 days a 
week. This account constantly gathers resources, trains troops, participates in events, and 
attacks other players with inhuman efficiency. 

2. Exploitation by Wealthy Players (The Paid Army 
Syndrome) 
The most toxic aspect of piloting in AOEM is not that a couple of friends occasionally help each 
other out. The real issue is the industrialization of this practice by extremely wealthy players. 
These players do not merely possess vast financial resources to purchase in-game bundles 
(Whales); they go much further: 
● Hiring Entire Networks of Pilots: Wealthy players pay dozens of people (often from 
developing countries where this activity serves as a livelihood) to take care of their 
accounts. 
● Dominance Across ERA Servers: This phenomenon is not limited to a single server. 
Wealthy individuals or elite alliances sponsor armies of pilots who control dozens of the 
most important accounts across multiple ERA servers. 
● Creation of Monopolies: This creates giant empires ruled by a handful of patrons who 
have de facto bought their victory. The game ceases to be a game and becomes a paid 
job for pilots and an ego-trip for billionaires. 

3. Why Account Piloting is Unfair and Destructive

This practice has a devastating impact on the entire player community and game ecosystem 
for several reasons: 
1. Disruption of Basic Game Logic: Strategy games are built on the premise that a player 
must make compromises and manage their time. Piloting completely erases this 
necessity. 
2. Impossibility of Defense for Honest Players: An honest player—whether Free-to-Play 
(F2P) or someone who invests money into the game—stands no chance against an entity 
that never sleeps. While an honest alliance rests at night, piloted accounts attack, steal 
resources, and destroy weeks of hard work. 
3. Frustration and Community Burnout: When regular players realize they are not 
fighting another player, but rather paid shifts of computer operators, they lose 
motivation to play. The game becomes a toxic environment for them. If developers lose 
their mid-tier player base, the game will die sooner or later. 
4. Loss of Strategic Depth: Victory in ERA servers is no longer determined by better 
diplomacy, superior battlefield tactics, or smarter resource allocation. It is determined by 
who has a larger budget for pilot salaries. 

4. Required Solutions and Sanction System 
For AOEM to survive and retain its integrity, developers must stop turning a blind eye to this 
problem. It is essential to enforce a zero-tolerance policy toward account sharing and piloting. 
We propose the following measures: 

A. Technological Prevention 
● IP and Device Tracking: Modern analytical tools can easily detect if an account is 
regularly accessed by people from opposite ends of the world at unnatural time 
intervals.
● Limited Number of Devices: An account can be paired with a maximum of two unique device 
identifiers (Device UUIDs, e.g., a primary phone and a tablet).
● Cooldown Period: If a player wants to add or change an authorized device, they must undergo 
thorough verification, followed by a 7 to 14-day cooldown period during which no other devices can 
be added. This immediately destroys pilot networks that rotate on accounts from dozens of 
different devices within a single week. 
● Mandatory Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Making it harder to hand over login 
credentials to third parties. 
● Biometric Verification or CAPTCHA for Suspicious Activity: If an account is active for 
20 hours a day and jumps between continents, the system should demand immediate 
personal verification.
● Impossible Speed: If an account logs out in Berlin and a login attempt occurs ten minutes later from 
an IP address in the Philippines, the system must automatically block access.
● Geo-lock: Logging in from a new country or a suspicious VPN network should trigger an immediate 
account lockout until the owner manually confirms the change via a secondary channel (SMS code to 
the original number, email) and proves they are genuinely traveling. 

B. Strict and Exemplary Penalties 
To deter those who believe their money makes them untouchable, penalties must be 
draconian: ● First Offense: Immediate 30-day suspension (ban) and forfeiture of all earned points, 
resources, and rewards in the ongoing ERA season. 
● Second Offense: Permanent account deletion (Permaban), regardless of how much 
money the player has invested into the game. 
● Alliance Sanctions: If massive pilot utilization is detected within a single alliance, that 
alliance should be immediately disqualified from ERA server battles. 

5. Conclusion 
The phenomenon of account piloting in AOEM has crossed acceptable limits. A game designed 
to unite players and test their strategic thinking has been hijacked by a narrow group of 
extremely wealthy individuals who use money to create an invincible, artificial army of paid 
laborers. 
This document serves as an appeal to the game creators and administrators: Account piloting 
is a gross violation of fair play. If it is not immediately banned and met with strict, 
uncompromising penalties, honest players will leave the game, and AOEM will become a dead 
platform used merely for laundering money for virtual mercenaries. It is time to return the 
game to those who genuinely play it for fun and passion.